Rhodium compounds alkene cyclopropanation

The rhodiumcarbene intermediate, which is believed to be the active species in rhodium acetate catalyzed cyclopropanations with diazo compounds, shows electrophilic reactivity. Thus, diazopropenes preferentially add to electron-rich alkenes, demonstrated by the reaction of 3-diazo-l,l-dichloropropene (15) with 2-trimethylsiloxybuta-l,3-diene (16) . A mixture of Z-configurated divinylcyclopropanes 17 and rearranged dienones 18 was obtained (see also Section 1. B.2.4.5.1. for further examples of the formation of seven-membered rings such as 18). 

A ketone moiety, /j-methoxybenzoyl, acts as a stereoselectivity controlling group in asymmetric rhodium(II)-catalysed cyclopropanation of alkenes with diazo compounds. (g)... 

Although a metal catalysed decomposition of ethyl diazoacetate was originally described by Silberrad and Roy in 19061, it was to be many years before the value of this type of process for cyclopropanation of alkenes using transition metal catalysts was widely appreciated and reliable, efficient methods were developed. By the early 1960s, the reaction had become important in organic synthesis. Various transition metal compounds have been screened for catalytic cyclopropanation. Copper, rhodium and palladium compounds have... 

Palladium(II) compounds have unique characteristics suitable for efficient catalysed cyclopropanation of electron-deficient alkenes using diazoalkanes. Neither copper nor rhodium(II) catalysts have shown comparable reactivity with diazoalkanes, although these catalysts are superior to palladium(II) catalysts for cyclopropanation with diazocarbonyl compounds. A few examples of palladium(II) catalysed cyclopropanation of a,fl-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with diazoalkanes are shown in equations 20-242 °. 

Metal catalysed decomposition of diazocarbonyl compounds in the presence of alkenes provides a facile and powerful means of constructing electrophilic cyclopropanes. The cyclopropanation process can proceed intermolecularly or intramolecularly. Early work on the topic of intramolecular cyclopropanation (mainly using diazoketones as precursors) has been surveyed31. With the discovery of powerful group VIII metal catalysts, in particular the rhodium(II) derivatives, metal catalysed cyclopropanation of diazocarbonyls is currently the most fertile area in cyclopropyl chemistry. In this section, we will review the efficiency and versatility of the various catalysts employed in the cyclopropanation of diazocarbonyls. Cyclopropanations have been organized according to the types of diazocarbonyl precursors. Emphasis is placed on recent examples. 

Stereosectivity is a broad term. The stereoselectivity in cyclopropanation which has been discussed in the above subsection, in fact, can also be referred to as diastereoselectivity. In this section, for convenience, the description of diastereoselectivity will be reserved for selectivity in cyclopropanation of diazo compounds or alkenes that are bound to a chiral auxiliary. Chiral diazoesters or chiral Ar-(diazoacetyl)oxazolidinone have been applied in metal catalysed cyclopropanation. However, these chiral diazo precursors and styrene yield cyclopropane products whose diastereomeric excess are less than 15% (equation 129)183,184. The use of several a-hydroxy esters as chiral auxiliaries for asymmetric inter-molecular cyclopropanation with rhodium(II)-stabilized vinylcarbenoids have been reported by Davies and coworkers. With (R)-pantolactone as the chiral auxiliary, cyclopropanation of diazoester 144 with a range of alkenes provided c yield with diastereomeric excess at levels of 90% (equation 130)1... 

The inclusion of a separate chapter on catalysed cyclopropanation in this latest volume of the series is indicative of the very high level of activity in the area of metal catalysed reactions of diazo compounds. Excellent, reproducible catalytic systems, based mainly on rhodium, copper or palladium, are now readily available for cyclopropanation of a wide variety of alkenes. Both intermolecular and intramolecular reactions have been explored extensively in the synthesis of novel cyclopropanes including natural products. Major advances have been made in both regiocontrol and stereocontrol, the latter leading to the growing use of chiral catalysts for producing enantiopure cyclopropane derivatives. 

The cyclopropanation of alkenes, alkynes, and aromatic compounds by carbenoids generated in the metal-catalyzed decomposition of diazo ketones has found widespread use as a method for carbon-carbon bond construction for many years, and intramolecular applications of these reactions have provided a useful cyclization strategy. Historically, copper metal, cuprous chloride, cupric sulfate, and other copper salts were used most commonly as catalysts for such reactions however, the superior catalytic activity of rhodium(ll) acetate dimer has recently become well-established.3 This commercially available rhodium salt exhibits high catalytic activity for the decomposition of diazo ketones even at very low catalyst substrate ratios (< 1%) and is less capricious than the old copper catalysts. We recommend the use of rhodium(ll) acetate dimer in preference to copper catalysts in all diazo ketone decomposition reactions. The present synthesis describes a typical cyclization procedure. 

Metal-catalyzed cyclopropanation of an alkene by a diazo compound, reaction 7.33, is another reaction where new C-C bonds are formed. This reaction finds use in the industrial manufacture of synthetic pyrethroids. The precatalysts for carbene addition reactions are coordination complexes of copper or rhodium. It should be noted that reaction 7.33 gives a mixture of isomers (syn plus anti) of the cyclopropane derivative. However, with some chiral catalysts, only one optical isomer with good enantioselectivity is obtained (see Section 9.5). 

The catalytic cycle proposed for the rhodium-porphyrin-based catalyst is shown in Fig. 7.18. In the presence of alkene the rhodium-porphyrin precatalyst is converted to 7.69. Formations of 7.70 and 7.71 are inferred on the basis of NMR and other spectroscopic data. Reaction of alkene with 7.71 gives the cyclopropanated product and regenerates 7.69. As in metathesis reactions, the last step probably involves a metallocyclobutane intermediate that collapses to give the cyclopropane ring and free rhodium-porphyrin complex. This is assumed to be the case for all metal-catalyzed diazo compound-based cyclo-propanation reactions. 

Figure 7.18 Catalytic cycle for the cyclopropanation of alkene by diazo compounds with a rhodium-porphyrin complex as the precatalyst.

Numerous synthetic methods have been developed for the synthesis of cyclopropanes, which represent an important core structure in a number of biologically active compounds. Of these techniques, metal-catalysed cyclopropanation of alkenes with ethyl diazoacetate constitutes a particularly simple and straightforward approach. The metal reacts with the azo compound to form a carbene complex which in turn reacts with the olefin, via formation of a metallabutacycle. Copper-complexes are most commonly employed, but other metals like rhodium and palladium are also used. 

Aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene add to alkenes using a ruthenium catalyst a catalytic mixture of AuCVAgSbFs, or a rhodium catalyst, and ruthenium complexes catalyze the addition of heteroaromatic compounds, such as pyridine, to alkynes. Such alkylation reactions are clearly reminiscent of the Friedel-Crafts reaction (11-11). Palladium catalysts can also be used to for the addition of aromatic compounds to alkynes, and rhodium catalysts for addition to alkenes (with microwave irradiation). " Note that vinyhdene cyclopropanes react with furans and a palladium catalyst to give aUylically substituted furans. ... 

Polymer-supported benzenesulfonyl azides have been developed as a safe diazotransfer reagent. ° These compounds, including CH2N2 and other diazoalkanes, react with metals or metal salts (copper, paUadium, and rhodium are most commonly used) to give the carbene complexes that add CRR to double bonds. Diazoketones and diazoesters with alkenes to give the cyclopropane derivative, usually with a transition-metal catalyst, such as a copper complex. The ruthenium catalyst reaction of diazoesters with an alkyne give a cyclopropene. An X-ray structure of an osmium catalyst intermediate has been determined. Electron-rich alkenes react faster than simple alkenes. ... 

Another application of rhodium carbenoid chemistry relates to the synthesis of strained-ring nitro compounds as high energy-density materials. Nitrocyclo-propanes are the simplest members of this class of compounds and catalyzed additions of a nitrocarbene to an olefin have only been described recently [40], Detailed studies have shown that the success of the reaction is, as expected, dependent on both the alkene and the nitrodiazo precursor. Consistently with the electrophilic character of rhodium carbenoids, only electron-rich alkenes are cyclopropanated. The reaction has been extended to the synthesis of nitrocyclo-propenes but the yields are good for terminal acetylenes only [41]. 

Enantioselective carbenoid cyclopropanation of achiral alkenes can be achieved with a chiral diazocarbonyl compound and/or chiral catalyst. In general, very low levels of asymmetric induction are obtained, when a combination of an achiral copper or rhodium catalyst and a chiral diazoacetic ester (e.g. menthyl or bornyl ester ) or a chiral diazoacetamide ° (see Section 1.2.1.2.4.2.6.3.3., Table 14, entry 3) is applied. A notable exception is provided by the cyclopropanation of styrene with [(3/ )-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxotetrahydro-3-furyl] ( )-2-diazo-4-phenylbut-3-enoate to give 5 with several rhodium(II) carboxylate catalysts, asymmetric induction gave de values of 69-97%. ° Ester residues derived from a-hydroxy esters other than ( —)-(7 )-pantolactone are not as equally well suited as chiral auxiliaries for example, catalysis by the corresponding rhodium(II) (S )-lactate provides (lS, 2S )-5 with a de value of 67%. 

The ability of chiral bis(camphorquinone-a-dioximato)cobalt(Il) complexes (Section 1.2.1.2.4.2.6.3.1.) to catalyze carbene transfer from diazocarbonyl compounds (diazoacetic esters, 2-diazo-l-phenylethan-l-one) to terminal alkenes conjugated with vinyl, aryl, carbonyl, and cyano groups, has already been mentioned. The ee-values are 75-88 /o at best, often lower. The highest values are again obtained with bulky diazoacetic esters. The significance of these catalysts, however, is their ability to promote cyclopropanation of electron-deficient alkenes, such as acrylates and acrylonitriles, in contrast to the rhodium and copper catalysts discussed above. 

The copper-, rhodium-, or ruthenium-mediated cyclopropanation of electron-deficient alkenes, such as a,[S-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, acrylonitriles or vinylboronates, fails in most cases and is very inefficient in others. One of the exceptions is the copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation of but-l-en-3-one with ethyl diazoacetate. ... 

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